#but in all seriousness i'm a big fan of complex dynamics & 'oh these dudes were not ''evil'' all along (obviously and blatantly)'

[anarkissm]

one of the most fascinating aspects of the Alien series's xenomorphs is the way they impregnate hosts as murderous parasites: an allegory to the horrors of pregnancy/birthing, specifically the ways it can violently disable or even kill the human body. this was an intentional parallel that H.R. Giger made when he was designing the xenomorphs, artistically expressing his own personal phobia with childbirth. compounded by the symbolic eroticism and copulative violation of the xenomorph's impregnating methods. the forced penetration, the insemination. the pain, and the inability to escape it, as it happens. it will literally kill you, if you try. the conventionally "feminine" shape of the xenomorph and its homogeneous hive controlled by its "queen". this is, at its core, body horror. horror of the reproductive or birthing body, and horror of the seemingly inescapable suffering of gestation.

it becomes even more evident when the yautja are involved: an ancient enemy of the xenomorph, considers xenomorphs their god and the perfect predator, are a primarily matriarchal society but not homogeneous, conventionally "masculine" but biologically intersex. in many ways, the yautja are the antithesis of the xenomorphs. known to capture and sadistically torture xenomorphs in erotic positions of submission:

it is also important to note that unlike the yautja: by all accounts, the xenomorphs are biologically engineered. "unnatural" in the sense that they were created only for destruction, a weapon; exploited by capitalistic industries.

in a way, the yautja prevent this violating act on the xenomorphs' victims by ritually killing them, preventing the realization of Giger's phobia or at least minimizing the infestation. the complex and "warring" relationship between xenomorphs and yautja hunters are that of equals and opposites. "masculinity" and "femininity". darkness (xenomorphs, which are stealth hunters that blend perfectly into the dark) and light (yautja, who literally bend light around them via shiftsuits). yin and yang. etc. a paradoxical harmony that the yautja seem to recognize, and viewed as sacred. this is why they hunt the xenomorphs, embodiment of a corrupted darkness.

this allegorical dynamic between yautja and prey is not exclusive to the xenomorphs. yautja hunters and their human prey are often illustrated in suggestive positions, creating a jarring juxtaposition of sadism, eroticism and death (possibly as a metaphor for domination).

I have already covered that the yautja's prey are exclusively mercenaries, special forces soldiers, killers and cops. Essentially, they hunt predators. the yautja's relationship with their human prey is almost always an exercise in domination; they view these murderers as their equal in terms of brutality and sadism (which is why they enjoy hunting them so voraciously; to them, human killers are dishonoring the hunt by killing civilians and unarmed souls), if not in sheer strength and technological prowess. human killers often choose to fight yautja hunters with brute strength or a hail of advanced firepower. and, predictably, it never works. survivors defeated "the predator" with cunning, ingenuity, and the ability to use their environment and limited resources to their advantage. Moreover, these survivors usually only face one or two at a time, which offers them some advantage.

Ultimately, the yautja (with the exception of many bad bloods) revere the ancient harmony of the universe and all life in it, as they understand the origin of creation came from their mother-serpent (an ancient meteor which germinated the perfect chemical soup in the beginnings of "the big bang", which then traveled across the universe, spreading life throughout); they use their strength and power to protect the prey of these human pedators.